That is a now famous from Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra after last nights 87-86 loss to the Chicago Bulls. The loss made it four in a row for the Heat but that's an afterthought now as everyone is talking about "Crygate." Everywhere people are mocking the Heat players and apparently radio stations in South Beach have been playing songs like "Big Girls Don't Cry" all day long as a tribute to the team.
The mockery however is misplaced in my opinion. There is nothing wrong with crying after losing a game. Sports can be very emotional and a lot of athletes put a ton of effort into winning and for some people it even defines who they are as a person. For some athletes the greatest moments of their entire lives unfold on national television and if they lose who are we to judge them for crying?
Some examples of when its acceptable to cry at a sporting event: if you have just won/lost the championship (professional or college level only, if its your men's league softball tournament then no crying), if it was the final game of your career, during a retirement speech,or if you just played the game after losing a relative or loved one.
Example of when its not acceptable to cry in sports: after losing a REGULAR SEASON game of basketball. Normally when athletes cry during/after a sporting event it is a game of some meaning whether it be a playoff game or the deciding game of a championship but never before have I seen someone cry after losing a regular season game. The fact that any player on the Miami Heat cried after losing a game during the regular season should be seen as a massive red flag to people who think this team might make any noise in the playoffs.
How can you expect a team that is obviously so emotionally fragile to compete for a championship? If you're crying after a regular season game in March what will your reaction be when you lose a playoff game in May? Clearly the pressure of carrying the rest of the team is getting to "The Big Three" as after each of the last 4 Heat losses the body language of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh has been horrendous. They slouch and sulk during the post game press conferences and after blowing a 24 point lead to the Magic the other night Bosh slammed the ball on the court in a showing of frustration.
The attention is all on them, but that's what they wanted. NBA Broadcaster and analyst Jeff Van Gundy nailed it on the head when he said this to ESPN, "my suggestion would be if you don't want the scrutiny, you don't hold a championship celebration before you've even practiced together. It's hard to go out yourself and invite that kind of crowd and celebration and attention, and then when things aren't going well, sort of bemoan the fact that you're getting that attention." Preach Jeff preach!
The other side of the argument is that people are defending the Heat players and praising them for crying because it shows that they genuinely care about the game. I find this insanely hard to believe as you would have to ignore all the intense pressure that has been put on Miami during this latest 4 game losing streak and treat this one game as an isolated incident. Its not as if the Bulls and the Heat are big rivals, I mean there may be some animosity as Chicago did pursue Wade, Bosh and LeBron in the off season, but not enough to warrant tears.
No its clear that the effort required to carry the dead weight that makes up the rest of the Miami Heat roster has gotten too great for the "Big Three" to carry. They were managing just fine until the corpse of Mike Bibby was added to the pile and finally they simply broke down. The Heat may as well just call it a season because they clearly lack the character needed to make a serious playoff push and eventually win a NBA title.
That's what you need to take away from the Spoelstra quote. Not the fact that the players were crying but that they were crying after losing game 63 in an 82 game season.
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